DISSERTATION TOPICS

Jilfin Shelto Kumar 19MAR09

Building Envelop Design

Introduction :
A building envelope is the structural barrier between the interior and exterior of a
building. It is responsible for maintaining climate control within the interior of a
building. Climate control refers to cooling and heating a building. The building
envelope also keeps the interior free from moisture, sound, and light. The building
envelope structure includes the:
Roof, Walls, Foundation, Doors, and Windows.
Common materials are used to form the building envelope structure and contribute to
the structure by having long lasting, insulating, water repellent, sound blocking, and
light filtering characteristics.
Common roof material includes asphalt, composite, wood, metal, clay, slate, and
rubber.
Typical wall material includes brick, stone, stucco, glass block, wood, concrete, and
vinyl.
The building envelope foundation simply consists of stone, brick, or forms of concrete.
Window frames and doors share common materials such as aluminum, composite,
fiberglass, vinyl, and wood. Specialty coatings and tints, along with gases, are com-
monly applied to any glass on both windows and doors.
Building envelope material is dependent on the climate, culture, and available
resources.
The many functions of the building envelope can be separated into three categories:

Support (to resist and transfer structural and dynamic loads)

Control (the flow of matter and energy of all types)
Finish (to meet desired aesthetics on the inside and outside)

The control function is at the core of good performance, and in practice focuses, in
order of importance, on rain control, air control, heat control, and vapor control.
Area Of Interest :
To Study How the Sun angles play a major role in influencng the climate change within
the building.
How the material and orientation of facade can change the climate change within the
building.

Research Questions :
How the quantum of natural light energy in facade is being exhausted and their ways of
management and sustainability ?

How the orientation of the facade affect the way how the climate influence the
building ?

How the material of the facade affect the way how the climate influence the
building ?
Aim :
To study about the sun movement and its azimuth angle which can minimalize the
artificial energy consumption and enhance natural light energy in facade. Also to find
the possible considerations of planning, orientation, facade, etc that suits the context.
Study Focuses towards the Southern Part of INDIA.
Objectives :
Building facades makes up the envelope entity that differentiates interior spaces from
exterior environment. Designing of envelope is based on the micro and macro climate
of the context. Sun movement will be the main aspect which deals with heat gain and
loss, natural lighting, etc.
Scope :
Designing of various facades that are aesthetical, cost effective, sustainable and which
can deal with the heat gain, heat loss, natural lighting, etc.
Limitations :
This is a vast topic and hence the Disertation is being limited for the Climate of
Southern Part of India.

Each context has its own sun movement and predominant wind direction which has to
be taken into consideration.
Research Methodology :
Detailed Climatic Study

Sun Study

Study in Relation With the Sun orientation

Materials in market

Infuence of Material

Ways to Control the Temperature within the building

Methods and Techniques Used

Artificial Inteligence

Creating a New Envelop Design

References :
Henning Larsen's University Building
Al Bahar Towers
Dynamic façade, MACBA in Barcelona, Spain
Interactive prototype of adaptive systems at MAK Center Mackay House, Los Angeles
Cellular Morphology Façade, RAT Lab, New Delhi
Gopaldas Ardee, New Delhi (Under Execution)
https://study.com/academy/lesson/building-envelope-defini-
tion-types-design.html#:~:text=Building%20envelope%20design%20is%20the,the%20
interior%20of%20a%20building.&text=The%20building%20envelope%20also%20kee
ps,moisture%2C%20sound%2C%20and%20light.

https://www.wbdg.org/guides-specifications/building-enve-
lope-design-guide/building-envelope-design-guide-introduction
 DISSERTATION TOPICS

Jilfin Shelto Kumar 19MAR09

Interdependency Between Climate Responsive Architecture & Digital Technology

Introduction :
The proliferation of new digital tools for computational analysis in parallel with
improved fabrication techniques enable the potential for radically reinvented passive
architectural systems, closing the long standing schism between architectural and
engineering design processes.
These techniques may be based on either vernacular methodologies or wholly new
forms yet untested.
For example, the Hewlett Packard Software Campus in Bangalore, India, designed by
Rahul Mehrotra Architects, and the DSW Building, by Sauerbach Hutton in Berlin,
both critically employ digital climate-design tools to create novel formal architecture.
They employed ‘high-technology’ in the design phase to engage architectural form as
the climate systems, and thereby reduced the necessity of mechanical/electrical
technologies during the lifetime of the buildings.
In these cases Architecture can be seen, from the moment of inception, as a
technological device able to employ basic principles of physics in the design
and construction of a finished architectural product. Through well-integrated design
processes, such elemental principles as aerodynamics, optics and thermodynamics can
be integrated to ‘thicken’ formal strategies and spatial
organizations, instead of layered on as discrete systems as lamented by Banham.

Area Of Interest :
To Study How the Digital Technology react to Climate Changes.

Research Questions :
How digital tools help in finding site responsive solutions?

What is the mechanism of the Digital Technology and how it changes itself due to cli-
mate change ?
Aim :
The aim is to study about how the Digital Technology influences architecture due to
climate change.

Objectives :
To create a comfortable interior while reducing the building's reliance on artificial
energy.
To reduce investment and running costs as well as ecological damage.
To optimize sun and wind impact.
All the above mentioned points are to be done using Digital Technology.

Scope :
This helps in designing different types of facades (both dynamic and fixed), sustainable
materials, cost effective designs etc.implimenting the idea of Digital Technology.

Limitations :
Climate differs from region to region.

States with extreme climatic conditions require designs to cater the extreme conditions.

Research Methodology :
Gather climate data and interpret

Undertake microclimate analysis

Exploring sustainable solutions

Develop bio climate design principles

Collabration of sustainable design solution with digital platform

Outcome of dissertation :
Outcome of dissertation
Design of facades based on responsive cells, sustainable design solutions for better-
ment of building longevity and comfort of the occupants.
References :
https://www.researchgate.net/publica-
tion/266142274_Design_with_Climate_The_role_of_digital_tools_in_computational_a
nalysis_of_site_-_specific_architecture/link/57502e8008ae4eed2740bbbc/download

https://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsive-facade-aedas
https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/14/henning-larsen-syd-
dansk-universitet-sdu-kolding-campus-building-denmark-green-standards-university/
 CULTURAL SENSITIVE HABITAT

Question:
How does belief, culture and social practices of a community depends on the built environment?

Aim:
• The aim is to study about the traditional architecture based on people’s behaviour, life style and meaning of
the spaces they live in.

Objectives:
• To understand the people’s lifestyle, customs and practices.
• To explore their built environment and construction technique.
• To compare it with modern architecture for solving problems.
• To come up with possible ideas that gives identity and promotes housing.

Need:
• House is a reflection of self belief, culture, religion and location.
• To understand, appreciate and incorporate each person’s individuality in design of spaces is the first concern
of an architect.
• People recreate, redesign or adopt the spaces as per their culture which is predominantly visible in housing.

Scope :
• Traditional construction techniques, materials, vernacular designs of communities, meaning of their built
environment and today’s construction techniques can be compared.

Issue :
• Today’s world is following modern construction techniques leaving behind the culture and heritage due to
lack of community interaction and awareness.
• Traditional practices are people’s identity that passes from generation to generation.
• Migration is one of the biggest issues.
Solution
• Community housing for people helps in bringing life back to traditional practices, hence traditional construc-
tion will be promoted.
Methodology
Mixed research method approach
• Selection of communities
• Literature study
• Live study
1. Observation
2. Participation observation
3. Interviews
4. Focus groups
5. Surveys
6. Documentary Data
7. Secondary Data
8. Comparative analysis

Outcome of dissertation
• Community study that helps in understanding about built environment along with its morphological chang-
es and social relationships.

Thesis
• Community housing with vernacular architecture.

Reference
https://www.slideshare.net/RajatRana3/aranya-community-housing-case-study